Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Using InputBox to Get Data.

Using InputBox to Get Data

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 1, 2025)

If you are developing a simple custom application in Excel, you may want to use the InputBox function to retrieve information from the user, and then place that information in a particular place in a worksheet. This can be easily done in the following manner:

UserValue = InputBox("Value to use?")
Cells(1, 1).Value = UserValue

These two lines, when inserted into a macro, prompt the user for input. This input is assigned to the UserValue variable by the InputBox function. The contents of this variable are then deposited in cell A1 of the current worksheet using the Cells method. If you prefer, you could also use the Range object to specify a location for the value, as shown here:

UserValue = InputBox("Value to use?")
Range("B3").Value = UserValue

This example deposits the value of UserValue into cell B3.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2290) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Using InputBox to Get Data.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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